Kerala man held for sexually exploiting over 50 women he befriended on social media

Kottayam (Kerala): A 25-year-old man has been arrested in Kerala for allegedly sexually exploiting over 50 women he had befriended on social media by blackmailing them with their morphed obscene photos, police said Saturday.

Pradeesh Kumar from Areeparambu near Ettumanoor was arrested on Friday on the basis of a complaint by a woman, they said. Explaining his ‘modus operandi,’ police said Kumar used to target women over social media and get their phone numbers.

The accused used to take screenshots of the chats their husbands had with the fake accounts and forward it to their wives to convince them about their spouse’s “illicit relationships”.

After being assured that the women had started distancing themselves from their husbands, the accused grew close to the victims and invited them for video chats. He then allegedly blackmailed the women with their morphed obscene pictures and sexually exploited them, police said.

He had reportedly developed code languages to ensure that the women themselves were chatting with him on various social media platforms. If they failed to type the code before chatting, Kumar allegedly hurled expletives at them. If the women refused to comply with his orders, the accused threatened to send their morphed obscene photographs to their husbands, police said.

Following his arrest, morphed obscene photos of many women have been recovered from his laptop, they said.